<guide> <header name="North Sister" id="1" walk="" sun="" rock="" acknowledgement="By Gerry Narkowicz" intro="The new sport climbing area at North Sister hardly needed discovering as the crag is a prominent outcrop about 2km north of South Sister, near the town of St Marys. Robert McMahon and Gerry Narkowicz scrub bashed across from South Sister in the early 80’s but dismissed it as a climbing area because there are no crack lines. Local climber Ashley Mason put up the first sport climb in 2013 but has focused his attention over the years on the more extensive crags at South Sister. At Easter 2016, Gerry Narkowicz checked it out for sport climbing potential and began bolting some of the uncompromisingly difficult and sustained faces at the crag. The climbing is characterized by slightly overhanging face climbing on generally good quality dolerite." history="" access="North Sister is approximately 130km from Launceston and the trip takes about 90 minutes. From the Midlands Highway, turn at Conara Junction and take the A4 road heading east to Fingal and St Marys. About 1km before St Marys, look out for the sign marked Top Marshes Rd and South Sister Lookout. After a couple of kilometres there is a crossroads. Continue straight ahead up the hill (the sign says Upper Scamander) and after 3 km there is a left turn to South Sister. Continue on the main road for 250m and turn left onto Dublin Town Road. On this section of road, the mountain is clearly in view. After 1.6km the road takes a sharp left in the vicinity of the mountain. There is a car park on the right at this bend in the road. <br/>Follow a 4WD track for 30m until a cairn of stones marks a footpad to the left. The track makes its way up onto the south-east ridge via a rough pad through the scrub and also some scree slope. At one stage the path goes along the top of a large fallen tree. Towards the summit it becomes more defined. The track passes through a narrow notch or gap in the cliffs to emerge amongst the summit crags, and continues on to the summit." camping="" autonumber="true"/> <text id="34" class="heading3">Crag Steward</text> <text id="33" class="text">Rock climbers please contact the Cliff Steward (fingalvalley@climbersclubtas.org.au) if you have any queries or concerns regarding social or environmental impacts of rock climbing at this crag. Do not email regarding general travel, seasonal advice, or lost property - this is not the Steward’s role. If you have important safety information to communicate (e.g. risks due to recent and large rock falls) please also consider updates on thesarvo forum, facebook group and/or online guidebooks as appropriate. Please copy in cct@climbersclubtas.org.au if you feel you have a high level concern which may imminently impact the crag or climbing community.<br/><br/>Non-climbers, other users, land managers: please also contact cct@climbersclubtas.org.au if you have important climbing related queries at this location.</text> <image id="24" src="nsimage1.jpg" height="616" width="800"/> <image id="25" src="nsimage2.jpeg" height="1053"/> <text class="heading2" id="2">Main Face (Eastern Face)</text> <text class="text" id="3">About 20m before the walking track passes through the notch, go right for 10m along a scrubby terrace to a short chimney with a fixed rope. Up the fixed rope to a ledge where a bolted fixed line extends for 50m underneath the main face. Careful along this ledge as there is a substantial chossy cliff below the fixed line.</text> <image id="26" src="nsimage3.jpeg" height="580" width="800"/> <image id="28" src="nsimage5.jpeg" height="690" width="800"/> <climb id="4" number="1." stars="**" extra="9Þ" name=" Love is For Suckers" length="20m" grade="22" fa="Gerry Narkowicz. 22/4/16. ">The first climb starting about 10m along the fixed line. Slightly overhanging face climbing leads to an insecure, technical crux in the blank corner high on the route. Best to rap from the anchors.</climb> <image id="27" src="nsimage4.jpeg" height="679" width="800"/> <climb id="5" number="2." stars="**" extra="Þ" name="Back To Eden" length="30m" grade="24" fa="Gerry Narkowicz. 26/6/16 ">The second line is technical and steep and would be a difficult onsight. After the big jug at the 6th bolt, the difficulty eases (rock quality not great for a few metres), then a tricky mantle over the roof and the exciting conclusion on the headwall where it joins Argo for the last 2 bolts. Fantastic climb.</climb> <climb id="6" number="3." stars="*" extra="16Þ" name="Argo" length="30m" grade="23" fa="Gerry Narkowicz 12/6/16. ">The third line is a crack in the middle of a face heading up to a roof. Good climbing on chossy rock for the first 20m to the roof. Intimidating moves to gain the splitter hand crack under the roof which is turned on the left. Exhilarating moves up the headwall on excellent rock redeem this climb completely.</climb> <image id="29" src="nsimage6.jpeg" height="679" width="800"/> <climb id="7" number="4." stars="***" extra="Þ" name=" Lick My Love Pump" length="20m" grade="22" fa="Gerry Narkowicz. 14/5/16 ">The prominent boxed groove with a white quartzite layer over the rock, in the middle of the face. Superb technical bridging. Steeper than it looks.</climb> <climb id="8" number="5." stars="***" extra="Þ" name=" Keep Licking" length="10m" grade="25" fa="Gerry Narkowicz 13/8/16 ">The second pitch to Lick My Love Pump. From the belay of the Love Pump, climb up several metres of choss and grass to the start of the line. A beautiful natural feature of flakes and thin seams up the middle of the wall. A gymnastic series of moves near the top provide the crux..beta is to stay left of the central seam.</climb> <climb id="9" number="6." stars="***" extra="18Þ" name="Twisted Sister" length="35m" grade="24" fa="Gerry Narkowicz. 22/4/16.">The pick of the lines and the classic of the crag. Towards the end of the fixed line is a shallow groove on black rock, leading up to the summit tower. Some hard bridging and technical face climbing culminating in steep jug hauling near the top. Fantastic route. A 60m rope will not reach the ground from the lower-off.</climb> <climb id="10" number="7." stars="**" extra="10Þ" name=" Yank Me and Crank Me" length="20m" grade="24" fa=" Gerry Narkowicz. 12/6/16">The next route right, starting on a grassy ramp. Slightly overhangs all the way. A relentless, pumpy climb with great moves.</climb> <text class="heading2" id="11">The Notch</text> <text class="text" id="12">Immediately after passing through the notch (narrow gap in the cliffs) on the walking track, there is a north facing crag to the left with a u-bolted route on a slab.</text> <image id="30" src="nsimage7.jpeg" height="682" width="800"/> <climb id="13" number="8." stars="*" extra="Þ" name=" Fuck Nose" length="10m" grade="15" fa=" Ashley Mason. 2013 ">The u-bolted slab immediately to the left as you pass through the notch.</climb> <climb id="14" number="9." stars="*" extra="Þ" name=" Back From The Dead" length="15m" grade="18" fa="Ashley Mason. 22/4/16 ">On the attractive face to the right is a bolted face climb starting near the base of a large eucalypt, and going up to the same anchors as the u-bolted slab. A fun and worthwhile climb.</climb> <text class="heading2" id="15">North Gully Face</text> <text class="text" id="16">From the notch, the track passes under some slabby faces and down a rocky slot to reach a saddle or gap between two cliffs. The summit track now takes a sharp right turn and goes up a narrow, orange dirt gully. From the saddle, go down the wide gully with a very mobile scree slope, to the base of the big crag on the left side of the gully. On the northern side is a beautiful overhanging orange coloured face.</text> <climb id="17" number="10." stars="" extra="Þ" name=" Nick Hancock Project" length="20m" grade="27" fa=" Nick Hancock">Project</climb> <text class="heading2" id="18">North Summit Terrace</text> <text class="text" id="19">Follow directions for North Gully Face as far as the saddle, and continue up the summit track via the narrow, orange dirt gully. At the top of the gully is a small saddle between the north summit tower and the southern summit tower. The southern summit is the tallest and is reached by a scramble up some slabs. From the aforementioned saddle and facing the ocean, the terrace is down to the left and is reached by a short scramble down a bolted fixed line.</text> <image id="31" src="nsimage8.jpeg" height="499" width="800"/> <climb id="20" number="11." stars="**" extra="Þ" name=" Sponge Bob" length="10m" grade="24" fa="Ingvar Lidman. 7/5/16 ">The attractive face with a faint corner feature up the middle. A bouldery, finger intensive crux at half height.</climb> <climb id="21" number="12." stars="*" extra="Þ" name=" Smell The Glove" length="10m" grade="20" fa="Gerry Narkowicz. 14/5/16 ">Next right is a face with a v-groove at the top. Some thin moves to gain the groove, then a technical conclusion in the groove.</climb> <climb id="22" number="13." stars="**" extra="Þ" name=" Stunt Cock" length="12m" grade="24" fa=" Ingvar Lidman. 14/5/16 ">On the next buttress 5m to the right is a sharp arête to the left of a wide crack. A sustained route which is climbed on the left face before eventually gaining the arête.</climb> <image id="32" src="nsimage9.jpeg" height="677" width="800"/> <climb id="23" number="14." stars="**" extra="Þ" name=" Spinal Tap" length="15m" grade="23" fa=" Gerry Narkowicz. 7/5/16 ">Next right is a south facing wall just right of a wide crack. Starts with a perplexing bridging problem in a blank corner then some steep face climbing. Good route.</climb> </guide> |